China locks down city the size of London after 17 Covid cases found July 22, 2021 China has locked down a city of some 9.3m people, a similar population to that of London, after just 17 cases of Covid-19 were found. It comes as China reported its highest daily number of new cases since January on Tuesday and shot down plans to investigate the Covid-19’s origin. A senior Chinese health official [...]
Lex Greensill was given ‘extraordinarily privileged’ access to government, finds report July 22, 2021 A Boris Johnson-sanctioned probe into the lobbying efforts of Greensill Capital has found its owner was given “extraordinarily privileged” access to the highest reaches of government. The report also critiqued the government’s handling of the UK’s lobbying system, which it said gives access to a “privileged few” like former Prime Minister and Greensill Capital adviser [...]
Government monitoring ‘concerning’ supermarket shortages caused by ‘pingdemic’ July 22, 2021 Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said he is “monitoring” the growing supermarket shortages caused by workers being forced to self-isolate as Covid cases surge. Pictures of empty shelves circulated across social media last night, leading supermarkets to apologise for the Test and Trace-caused shortages. More than 600,000 people have been told to self-isolate by the [...]
Six million SMEs risk ‘being forgotten’ in net zero transition, banks warn July 22, 2021 The UK’s six million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could be “forgotten or left behind” in the country’s net zero transition, warns Bankers for Net Zero in a report. The initiative – supported by Barclays, Handelsbanken, Triodos, Ecology Building Society, ClearBank and Tide – argues that measures need to be implemented to avoid leaving SMEs unprepared [...]
Media freedom: Hong Kong police arrest ex-editor of squashed Apple Daily July 21, 2021 Hong Kong police have detained two former senior staff of stifled pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, just hours after they arrested the paper’s former executive editor-in-chief. Apple Daily’s former deputy chief editor Chan Pui-Man and managing editor Fung Wai-Kong were arrested for a second time, according to local media reports. The pair had already been arrested [...]
Keir Starmer self-isolating after child tests positive July 21, 2021 Keir Starmer is the latest politician to go into self-isolation after one of his children has tested positive for coronavirus at lunchtime. “In line with the rules, Keir and his family will now be self-isolating,” announced a spokesperson for the Labour leader. “Keir was already doing daily tests and tested negative this morning. He will [...]
‘We cannot go on as we are’: UK outlines proposed changes to Northern Ireland Protocol July 21, 2021 The UK has today outlined proposed changes to the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, with a cabinet minister saying that “we cannot go on as we are”. The move is set to ignite a furious row with the EU, with one of its top officials saying there is no room for renegotiation of the protocol. Northern [...]
Keir Starmer calls for clarity over which businesses can get self-isolation exemption July 21, 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for clarity over which businesses can get an exemption to the government’s self-isolation rules. Downing Street yesterday said some businesses in vital industries can apply to have their staff exempt from self-isolating when pinged by the NHS Track and Trace app. It comes as more than 1m people [...]
MPs call out ‘complete absence’ of invasive beauty treatment regulation July 21, 2021 MPs have urged the government to strengthen regulation on non-surgical beauty treatments, like fillers and injections, citing a “complete absence” of a legal framework. After a year-long review, the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing have claimed the government has left the young industry to regulate itself. The APPG advised mandatory training [...]
UK set for major EU row as Frost prepares to redraw Northern Ireland Protocol July 21, 2021 The UK is set to force another major post-Brexit row with the EU as it prepares to demand significant changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol today. Defacto Brexit minister Lord David Frost will reportedly call for almost all checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to be removed to avoid economic and civil disruption. The [...]